An island off the coast of Japan, which served as the inspiration for the deserted hideout of the villain Raoul Silva in the most recent James Bond Film, "Skyfall," is actually called Hashima Island, and offers tours that depart from Nagasaki, according to CNN.
Tour operators began offering the trip in 2009. A standard trip includes a 40-minute boat ride, and then an hour on the island, depending on weather conditions. If the weather is too poor, the boats can't dock.
Once you arrive at the island, it isn't anything like being in a Bond film, but instead has clearly defined paths that follow only a quarter of the island. Visitors can get a good view of the ruins, but they can't actually go near them.
Tomoji Kobata, a tour guide who works at Gunkanjima Concierge, is one of three tour operators who lead trips to the island. He lived on it for a year.
"It reminded me of Hong Kong," he said. "Cooking hours were quite noisy.
"Wives would borrow seasoning and exchange food they couldn't eat," he added. No one would lock the door.
"There was an old woman called 'Watchdog' who checked on everyone who came in and out and would know everyone's business," he continued.
To see the ruins up close, special permission is needed from the Nagasaki City Council, along with a compelling reason for going inside. The reason for this is very simple, and it's that the ruins are very dangerous.
Hashima was a mining facility run by the corporation Mitsubishi for almost 100 years. The mining community was housed in early concrete high-rises, which were the best housing options on the small island.
By 1959, the island was one of the most densely populated places in the world, with a population of 5,259 people living on 18 acres.
By 1974, gas had replaced coal as the major fuel source for Japan, so Mitsubishi pulled out of the island, the workers left to find jobs elsewhere and the island was left abandoned.
The location scouts for "Skyfall" spent several days on the island but decided it was too dangerous to film there, according to the Nagasaki City Council. Instead, they built sets to replicate the eerie look of the island in Pinewood Studios in the U.K.
Visitors that do receive permission to visit the island must wear hard hats and have an escort from the city council with them.
The island has applied to be a UNESCO World Heritage site but South Korea has protested due to its association with wartime slave laborers.
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
